Sequestering of Fe and Pb ions from Wastewater by Canarium schweinfurthii after carbonization and chemical treatment: Isothermal and Kinetic Modeling

In this paper agricultural waste; Canarium schweinfurthii was explored for the sequestering of Fe and Pb  ions from wastewater solution after carbonization and chemical treatment at 400oC. Optimum time of 30 and 150 min with percentage removal of 95 and 98% at optimum pH of 2 and 6 was obtained for Fe and Pb ions. Kinetics model followed pseudofirst order as sum of absolute error (EABS) between Qe and Qc greater than that of pseudo second order. Parameters evaluated from isothermal equation (Freundlich and Langmuir) showed that KL and QO for Fe > Pb and R2 for Langmuir> Freundlich. The study reveals the suitability of the adsorbent for sequestering of Fe and Pb ions from industrial wastewater. ©JASEMKeywords: Adsorbent; Pb; Fe; Kinetics and Isother

Credit Risk Management in Nigerian Banks (2005 – 2015)

This study examines credit risk management in Nigerian banks. Content analysis approach was used to examine 15 banks over a ten years period. Findings from the study revealed that credit risk architecture significantly affects loan recovery of selected banks in Nigeria. Also GDP, NPL, interest rate and unemployment significantly affects the credit risk structure of banks in Nigeria. However inflation had insignificant effect on the credit risk structure of banks in Nigeria. We recommend that banks should enhance their credit risk architecture to always include collateral review and management, facility performance monitoring, quality reviews classification and risk portfolio reporting. Again, banks credit granting decision should be based on the result of risk assessment client’s solvency, available collateral, and transaction compliance with policies. Keywords: Credit risk, Credit structure, and Content analysis, Credit Risk Architecture

Monitoring the Production Process of Friendly Bacteria Using Hplc

With the development of microbiological andnutritional sciences in the late 19th century came the technologynecessary to produce cultured dairy products on an industrial orcommercial basis. However ten Lactic acid bacterial (LAB)strains were isolated from milk and its products. They wereidentified as Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus fermentum,Lactococcus lactis subspecie cremoris, Lactobacillus acidophilus,Lactobacillus brevis and Streptococcus thermophillus.Lactobacillus plantarum produces the highest quantity of lacticacid at 72 hours of incubation (2.89g/l) while Lactobacillusfermentum produce the lowest (1.11g/l). Lactococcus lactissubspecies cremoris had the highest quantity of diacetyl (1.72g/l)while Streptococcus thermophillus and Lactobacillillus fermentumhad the lowest quantity of 0.52g/l and 0.47g/l respectively. At 72hours of incubation Lactobacillus acidophilus produced thehighest quantity of hydrogen peroxide (1.91g/l) whileStreptococcus thermophillus produced the lowest. The quantity ofhydrogen peroxide increased up to 48hours before declinationsets in. Results of the high performance liquid chromatography(HPLC) used to quantify organic acid revealed that, Lactobacillusplantarum produced the highest yield of Lactic acid (280.16mg/ml) closely followed by Lactobacillus fermentum (215.9mg/ml). Whereas the lowest yield (48.253mg/ml) was producedby Lactococcus lactis subsp cremoris with the retention time of3.231. Thus considering the easiness and conciseness of samplepreparation, high performance liquid chromatography could beconsidered as an efficient, accurate and rapid method of organicacid determination in fermented products

Determinants of Credit Access and Default among Crayfish Traders in Four Selected Markets in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria

The paper examine the various determinants of credit access and default using data from a sample of 60 crayfish traders collected through a multi-stage random sampling in three selected markets in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. Data were analyzed using logit and multiple linear regressions that involve the use of Ordinary Least Square (OLS). Findings revealed a dominant age bracket and household size of 41-50 years and 6-10 persons with average household size of 6 persons respectively. Traders were also quite experience with high level of literacy. The result of the logit model revealed that only household size and interest rate charged on loan impacted positively on loan default. Findings further revealed that age of traders, educational level, availability of surety and marketing experience impacted positively on credit access in the study area. This suggested the need to pursue policies that would reduce interest rate and household size, enhances educational attainment and marketing experience of traders as well as the evolution of a more articulate and proactive loan monitoring procedure alongside the setting up a loan delinquent court to punish loan defaulters as the way out. Keywords: Credit access; determinants; crayfish traders and credit defaul

A comparative study on ABO blood group and fertility hormones in infertile women in Calabar, Southern Nigeria

Infertility, a disorder of the reproductive system, is commonly linked to hormonal, pituitary, cervical, uterine, immunological or psychological factors. Besides these factors, it can also be idiopathic or unexplained. Hence, there is a need for more research to unravel the causes of the unexplained infertility. This work aimed at finding out whether there is any relationship between ABO blood group system and female infertility. The study design was cross-sectional. Three hundred women between 18 and 40 years attending fertility clinic at the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, Calabar between 2011 and 2012 were recruited for this study. Serum progesterone, prolactin, follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH) and estradiol were determined using Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) while ABO blood grouping was determined using the tube method. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS version 18. The confidence level was set at 95% where p-value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. The mean age of the women was 30.65 ± 5.47 years and the percentage distributions of the blood groups among the women were as follows: 24% A, 12% B, 4% AB and 60% O. The mean FSH levels of blood groups A and O individuals were significantly higher (p<0.05) than that of groups B. However, there was no significant difference (p>0.05) in the mean levels of progesterone, prolactin, LH and estradiol in the respective groups. From this study, 38% of the population had increased levels of progesterone, 58% and 18.7% had elevated prolactin and FSH levels respectively while 11.33% and 43.3% had reduced levels of LH and estradiol levels respectively. Though, there was high prevalence of hyperprolactinemia observed in this study, there was no strong association between ABO blood group and female infertility but, the increased FSH levels observed in blood groups A and O may be a potential link between blood group and infertility and therefore may be beneficial for further study

Thyroid function in hypertensives in South-South Nigeria

Background: Hypertension is the most common cardiovascular disease afflicting humans. It has been reported that hypertensive patients may have a tendency for impaired thyroid function but, these results have not always been confirmed. The aim of this study therefore was to determine the serum level of thyroid hormones in hypertensive subjects and any possible relationship between serum thyroid hormone levels and hypertension.Methods: Blood samples were consecutively obtained from One hundred and seventy (170) consenting subjects. One hundred were hypertensive subjects while seventy subjects were normotensive controls. Triiodothyronine (T3), Thyroxine (T4) and Thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) were analyzed using ELISA kits. Data was analyzed using student “t” test and analysis of variance. The difference was considered statistically significant at p < 0.05.Results: The mean serum TSH value for hypertensive subjects was 3.01±2.42 µIu/ml and was significantly higher (p<0.0001) than that of the normotensive subjects (1.74±0.92 µIu/ml). Female hypertensive subjects had significantly higher (3.34±2.74 µIu/ml) mean TSH than the female normotensives with mean value of 1.79±0.86 µIu/ml (p<0.002). Mean TSH value for male hypertensive subjects was 2.78±2.4 µIu/ml and was significantly higher (p<0.007) than that of male normotensive subjects (1.72±0.96 µIu/ml). There were no significant differences in the mean serum T3 and T4 levels of hypertensives compared to the normotensives.Conclusions: It is concluded that the hypertensive subjects in this study required significantly higher (p<0.05) stimulation input, as measured from the level of thyroid stimulating hormone, to maintain the same level of thyroid hormones as their normotensive counterparts.

EVALUATION OF GLUTATHIONE, TOTAL ANTIOXIDANT CAPACITY, TOTAL PLASMA PEROXIDES, OXIDATIVE STRESS INDEX IN CATARACT PATIENTS IN CALABAR

Introduction: Cataract with prevalence of 15.4% is the leading cause of blindness among blinding eye diseases. The cause of cataracts is not fully understood and may be multifactorial, however oxidative damage to the lens proteins and lipids is suggested to be involved in the development of cataracts. This study aimed to determine the serum levels of glutathione (GSH), Total Antioxidant Capacity (TAC), Total Plasma Peroxides (TPP) and Oxidative Stress Index (OSI) in cataract patients in Calabar. Materials and Methods: One hundred and seventeen subjects which comprise 75 diagnosed cataract patients and 42 controls were recruited. The cataract patients were sub-divided based on WHO criteria as: No visual impairment (n = 25), visually impaired (n = 25) and blind (n = 25). &nbsp;GSH, TAC and TPP were determined using verified colorimetric methods while OSI was calculated. Anthropometric indices, blood pressure and sociodemographic information were obtained using standard methods. Data were analyzed using Student’s t-test, analysis of variance (ANOVA), LSD post hoc and Pearson’s correlation at P &lt; .05. Results: The TPP and OSI were significantly higher while GSH and TAC were significantly lower (P &lt; .05) in cataract patients compared to the control subjects. GSH and TAC were significantly lower (P &lt; .05) in cataract patients with blindness and visually impaired compared to those without visual impairment. Oxidative stress index correlated negatively with TAC (r = -0.607, P &lt; .05) and positively with diastolic blood pressure (r = 0.296, P = .01) in cataract patients. Conclusion: It can be concluded that increased oxidative stress may be associated with the formation of cataracts and further depletion of GSH and TAC may cause the progression of cataracts to blindness

Thyroid function determinants in cord blood of Nigerian neonates

Background: Congenital hypothyroidism is one of the most prevalent endocrine disorders in the newborn; early diagnosis and treatment have resulted in normal growth and development in nearly all cases. Data on congenital hypothyroidism in Nigeria is limited, hence, this study aims at establishing the baseline values and prevalence of congenital hypothyroidism as a prelude to a screening centre in our locality.Methods: Cord blood samples were consecutively obtained from two hundred and eighty nine neonates born in the Delivery ward of the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH). 152 (52.8%) of the neonates were males and 137 (47.2%) were females. Nineteen were preterm and 270 were full term. Triiodothyronine (T3), Thyroxine (T4) and Thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) were analyzed using ELISA kits. Data was analyzed using student “t” test and Pearson correlation coefficient. The difference was considered statistically significant at p 0.05). Triiodothyronine (T3) was undetectable in 75.8% of the neonates and very low in 24.2%. Twelve (4.2%) of the neonates had TSH levels >40µIU/ml with a mean TSH of 61.7±14.7 µIU/ml and a mean T4 of 7.7±3.7µg/dl.Conclusions: About 4.2% of neonates are at risk of congenital hypothyroidism with High TSH and low T4 values, T3 values are undetectable or very low in late prenatal life

Analysis of upland farm households’ vulnerability to climate variability in the Niger Delta, Nigeria

Analysis of upland farm households’ vulnerability - Gabriel, Edet, *Valerie, Glory, Godwin, Clement, Nkoyo, E. Bassey and Obot Analysis of upland farm households’ vulnerability to climate variability in the Niger Delta, Nigeria The study analysed the vulnerability of upland farm households to climate variability in the Niger Delta. Three states - Akwa Ibom, Ondo and Rivers were selected from the nine states that make up the Niger Delta region. A total of 120 respondents from upland communities of the Niger delta were used for analysis. Household questionnaire and vulnerability questionnaire using Cost Route method were the instruments used for data collection and analysed using Vulnerability Profile and Vulner-ability / Risk Framework. The results of the analysis show that both male and female headed house-holds in all the upland communities were vulnerable to flooding, windstorm, erosion and drying up of streams. Important factors that made households vulnerable to climate hazards were low agricultural output and income, non-availability of irrigation facilities, insufficient farm labour and lack of storage facilities. Technical capacities of household members were assessed using both science-based knowledge as well as indigenous knowledge of climate change as indicators to adaptation to climate variability. It was assumed that the adaptive capacity of households could be enhanced by the number of persons with either science-based knowledge or indigenous knowledge across the re-gion. Expenditure on carbohydrate was higher across the region during disaster time, followed by expenditure in protein, vitamin/minerals and fat and oil and other classes of food, implying that more carbohydrate food is consumed during disaster period than any other class of food. Certain geo-graphical factors such as distance to coastline and population have direct impact on climate variability in the Niger Delta Region. Recommendations include establishment of emergency evacuation systems, income opportunities and support programmes as well as capacity building on climate change knowledge, enterprise development and management. Key words: Farm households, Nigeria, poverty, rural areas, smallholder farmer